Action Alert - Congressional Recess

The U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives will be out of Washington, D.C. and back home from Friday, August 2, through Sunday, September 8.

This will be a great opportunity for you to personally contact your Representatives and Senators.  In this update, I will provide details of how you can take actions to make a difference on legislation in Congress.  

You can meet with your Representative and Senators during August

The best way of influencing your members of Congress is to meet with them “eye to eye” when they are back in your district and your state.  If it is not possible to personally meet with them, arrange to talk with them on the phone.

There are several important issues that you can speak to them about:

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HR 809

HR 809 by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and 86 cosponsors, to prohibit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from purchasing agriculture lands in the United States, was introduced on February 2, 2023.

Text - H.R.809 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

The bill was referred to both the House Agriculture Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee.  However, in 18 months, neither committee has given a hearing to this bill.

The chairmen of the committees have the authority to schedule hearings but have not done so.  The Chairman of the Agriculture Committee is Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA).  The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee is Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX).

Please thank the cosponsors of HR 809  Cosponsors - H.R.8693 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): To prohibit certain businesses and persons from purchasing real estate adjacent to covered Federal lands in the United States, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress and ask them to use their influence with the committee chairmen, Rep. Thompson and Rep. McCaul, to schedule hearings of this bill immediately.

Frustrated that no hearing has been held on HR 809, on June 11, 2024, Rep. Newhouse and 49 cosponsors introduced more limited legislation, HR 8693, to prohibit the PRC from purchasing land adjacent to federal properties.  HR 8693 was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee, but so far, it too has not been given a hearing by Rep. McCaul.

S 684

In the Senate, S 684, This Land Is Our Land Act, a similar bill to HR 809, has been introduced by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), but it has no cosponsors.  It has been referred to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. However, the chairman, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), has not scheduled a hearing on it.

HR 734

Several Grassroots Leaders of The Conservative Caucus have expressed a strong support for HR 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, by Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) and 93 cosponsors.  This bill passed the House on April 20, 2023 by a vote of 219-203.  All Republicans voted for it, while all Democrats voted against it.

Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives - Vote Details

HR 734 was received in the Senate on April 25, 2023, but no action has been taken on it.  The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has not even referred the bill to a committee.

An identical Senate companion bill to S 734, S 613, by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) was introduced on March 1, 2023.  S 613 was referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, but the committee chairman, Senator Bernie Sanders (VT), has not scheduled a hearing on it.

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Keep in mind that, in contacting members of Congress, everyone can be influenced to one degree or another.  It may not be possible to switch support or opposition to a bill, per se, but by visiting or calling your Senators or Representative, you can influence the intensity of support or opposition a legislator has for legislation.

If a conservative legislator is already on your side on an issue, giving him or her a “pat on the back” will encourage them to keep fighting for it and will cancel out the opposition to it that he or she is receiving from liberals.

Likewise, if a Senator or Representative is on the other side of an issue from you, letting them hear directly from you may very well cause that legislator to take a less prominent role in what they do and say on that issue.

Both of your Senators and your Representative should hear from you on a regular basis.

Other important matters:

Voter Registration 

Are you and all members of your family registered to vote?  Do you know of anyone at your church who needs to register or update their registration?  In order to vote in November, citizens must be registered at their current address.

To register or change their registration, contact your local county official who handles this.  That person may be the country clerk or someone else.  Call the main number for your county government to ask who is responsible for voter registration.  When you find out, call that office and find out the procedure in your county.  There is not uniform procedure.  It is different from place to place.

You may need to pass along this useful information to persons who are not registered at the address where they now live.

Volunteer to be a Poll Watcher

A new poll from Rassmussen Reports and the Heartland Institutes found that 62% of likely voters—and 83% of persons who voted for President Trump in 2000--are concerned that cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election.  62% Concerned About Election Cheating - Rasmussen Reports®

 A previous poll by the Heartland Institute in December 2023 found that more than one in five voters admitted to voting fraudulently during the 2020 election, including voting using a previous address.  And an April 2024 poll found that 28% of likely voters stated that they would cheat in the upcoming November election if given the opportunity.

And once votes are cast, there is the serious problem of the improper counting and tabulations of the results.

Accordingly, poll watchers at each precinct are desperately needed.

Please contact the county headquarters of your political party to volunteer now to be a poll watcher.  Of course, you will need to be trained in election laws and procedures.  And when you observe something wrong, you will learn how to object to improper procedures, as well as what can be done immediately if your objections are not heeded.

Your efforts as a poll watcher could single-handedly make the difference in the outcome of the elections for president, Congress, and state and local offices.

There may be training sessions already occurring now near you.  If not, they will likely begin soon.  Please sign up NOW.

Election Year Censorship And Social Media

The lies came fast and furious. A week ago, Kamala Harris was proud to be the official Border Czar, as appointed by Joe Biden. Suddenly the liberal media echoed in unison that “she never was the Border Czar”. That lie, triggered by Biden’s sudden campaign withdrawal, was followed by other media efforts to sanitize the extremist vice president.

That’s the power of the liberal media and social media giants. They call anyone who opposes their radical agenda ‘racist,’ ‘sexist,’ ‘a threat to democracy,’ and on and on.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA

Here’s how social media affects us in this election year as we communicate to share our lives, thoughts, photos--and to encourage people to consider conservative ideas and vote ‘right.’

Social media and the internet are the best ways to inform your family, friends and a great many people about political issues and the best candidates. You can share campaign news, opinions and research of your own and others, and even memes that poke fun at the other side.

The past two decades have empowered citizens like yourself to bypass the liberal media. You can seek out the truth and other opinions the media won’t tell you, and you and people like you can publish your own views.

That helps us win on issues and campaigns. Reach undecided and unregistered voters. Expose the invasion of illegals and other terrible Democrat policies. Connect local volunteers together to register voters and turn them out to vote.

CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Want to stay informed on the campaigns and learn how YOU can help? Follow TCC on X/Twitter and Facebook. 

You’ll find many resources on our website, and you can sign up for The Center for Conservative Activism (TCCA) to gain access to a wealth of grassroots action knowledge! Go to https://www.theconservativecaucus.org/volunteer to register. 

TCCA gives you all the resources you need to have success moving Members of Congress, your State Legislature, and your local City Council and School Board. 

STAY WHERE YOU’RE AT: DON’T LEAVE!

Expect that the social media giants will escalate censorship and lies to levels far higher than in the 2020 election, and when you tell the truth, you may run into the censors. They’ll brand your posts as ‘against community standards,’ ‘spreading false news,’ or just say ‘you did something wrong’ and not tell you what you did.

You may be tempted to give up, cancel your Facebook or other account and go to one of the conservative ‘free speech’ alternative social media apps. These include Truth Social, Rumble, Gettr, and Gab.

That has one advantage but important disadvantages. The advantage is you can speak freely with like-minded people and make new friends around the country. However, your non-political and liberal friends and family won’t follow you. You’ll miss them and they’ll miss you. And you’ll only be ‘preaching to the choir;’ you won’t change a single vote.

Therefore, do not abandon the censoring giants like Facebook because you will not be able to reach the non-political and undecided people we need to educate to win. Just do your best to not get banned--and if you do, open another account, and another... 

What's the right thing to do then? Do both. Stay on Facebook to stay in touch with your relatives and non-political friends—and reach undecideds and independents so we can win.

And start or continue using the alternatives to speak freely, to spread the word to fellow conservatives, to make friends, to plan peaceful events, to organize grassroots lobbying projects, etc. 

WHY WE LOVE X (FORMERLY TWITTER) TOO!

The exception to the rules is of course X, formerly Twitter. Under Elon Musk, it is a great free speech platform without censorship that reaches over a half-billion active users every month. You DO need to be there too. You’ll reach liberals, independents and conservatives.

You’ll find reports of breaking news long before the news broadcasts. X-Spaces are audio forums which you can start or join for discussions about elections, politics and other issues. Listen to some, start a few.

Let’s use social media as best possible for this election and beyond to educate voters and help the right candidates win!